Australian Muscle Car

editor’s induction steve normoyle

The second coming of the Holden Monaro, the Commodore version, is 20 years old this year. It’s actually older even than that – the original Commodore coupe concept car was first shown off at the Sydney Motor Show towards the end of 1998. I remember it well. A two-door VT was the last thing anyone expected to see – but it was all anyone was talking about. The highlight of the show was meant to be Ford’s revolutionary new AU Falcon range but amid the flurry of hype surrounding the surprise two-door Holden show car almost no one noticed the shiny new Fords. It set the tone for the misery that was to come for the unloved (if underrated) AU series. The rapturous reception the Holden coupe received that day was extraordinary.…

electric blue phase iii goes gold

An Electric Blue Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase III was sold recently in Perth for a record $1.15 million. The XY GT-HO, said to be one of only seven Phase IIIs made in Electric Blue with black interior trim, was meticulously restored by previous owner Mark Lamb. It won the Falcon GT Nationals in 1999 and 2003. The car was part of collection of eight vehicles owned by failed Perth businessman Chris Marco which went under the hammer at Slattery’s Auction in late February. The Marco collection attracted a total of $3 million. Slattery’s asset manager, Steve Waterman, said that online interest in the collection ‘went crazy, with more than 200,000 people visiting the website, and with over 1,000 bids for the collection being registered. The collection also included a Torana A9X, which attracted $435,000,…

once bitten

Just when you think you’ve seen the ultimate Ford Mustang, along comes… the Super Snake. This is Shelby’s latest Mustang offering, the Shelby Super Snake, of which only 98 will be made (to celebrate the late Carroll Shelby’s 98th birthday). The Mustang’s 5.0-litre V8 engine gets the Shelby supercharger treatment to take it out to 615kW (that’s 825 horsepower); according to Shelby it will go from rest to 100km/h in a tad more than 3.5 seconds. It’s selling for a little over US$130,000, but sadly this is one snake that won’t be seen on Australian shores.…

chrome temple pilot

As we’ve seen with some recent record breaking sales figures, the surge in prices being paid for classic Australian muscle cars is a phenomenon that’s showing no signs of slowing. Not even a global pandemic has been able to put a dent in the market. And if some industry insiders are right, it’s about to shift up a gear or two. That expected upsurge will be driven by what’s happening in the new car market. With manufacturers now preparing for an eventual shift to hybrid or full electric cars – and with some already flagging a specific date when they will make the switch to electric – the days of the conventional internal combustion engine are numbered. This is the unpalatable reality we will soon face. And as the transition takes place, the…

bowe on top in tcm

John Bowe was always adamant he’d be on the grid at Bathurst for the second round of the Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters Series despite being recently treated for prostate cancer. He made it to the Mountain, and he left Bathurst with a clear lead in the series after finishing third overall on the weekend with a single third placing and two fourth-place results across the three championship races. Bowe’s consistency was something title rivals Adam Garwood and Steven Johnson weren’t able to match. Johnson’s XD Falcon was excluded from the second race for being under weight, while sixth place in race two was Adam Garwood’s only race finish for the weekend. The Camaro driver had gone to Bathurst as series leader after a stellar start to the season at…

super s5000s

After a Covid-aborted 2020, the new S5000 openwheeler category has returned to the tracks with a vengeance this year. Though numbers have been small, barely more than 10 cars, the action has been spectacular, with some fierce racing that produced four different winners across the opening six races. The thundering 560 horsepower 5.2-litre Ford V8 ‘neo-Formula 5000s’ have proven a big hit so far in 2021 – 17 year-old Cooper Webster’s win in the wet at Phillip Island may well go down as the best race performance in any category across the entire year. Overall winner at Phillip Island was Joey Mawson, who received the Alfredo Costanzo Trophy for his effort. In a fitting acknowledgement of F5000 greats of the past and the spiritual link between the ‘70s 5.0-litre stock…